Bruno at His Best
1989 Bruno Giacosa Barolo Falletto Riserva
"Utterly Divine." - Antonio Galloni, Wine Advocate
Rather than boisterous praise, this wine deserves a moment of contemplative quiet, a pause for gratitude that wines like this exist.
For you serious Piedmont collectors, there's not much introduction necessary here - this is a legendary wine from one of Piedmont's most classic producers. Bruno Giacosa sits in the royal court with fellow traditionalists Giacomo Conterno and the two Mascarellos, crafting some of the most classic, ageworthy Barolos this world has seen.
As for me, I've been obsessively collecting Giacosa's wines for over twenty years, and quite simply, the 89 Falletto Riserva is one of his greatest of all time. Due to the wine's outstanding reputation and today's limited quantities, I'll be concise here.
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Today we offer a small, well-preserved parcel of the sublime 1989 Giacosa Barolo Falletto Riserva at $594.10 a bottle - only to those of you who have supported our Barolo program. The only other retail price in the nation for this wine is $650, and globally this is practically a needle in a haystack.
The 1989 and 1990 vintages in Piedmont were simply magical, and while I also adore the super-saturation of the 90s, the 89s are - especially now at 21 years young - just stunning creatures of transparency, wild detail and structured, technicolor fruit that seems to constantly change as if it's refracting through a prism.
In contrast to the exuberance and opulence of the 1990, the 89 Falletto Riserva is a seriously layered, nuanced wine that deftly combines the extraordinary perfume and deep concentration of the vintage with Giacosa's truly elegant style that has, on more than one occasion, been compared to Burgundy. This is a wine that sings in ten-part harmony, unfolding dark, rich plum notes between heady spices, curling smoke and midnight-black minerals.
Giacosa's long run of fantastic wines is a testament to his strict grape selection process from the choicest plots in Barolo. The Falletto site sits in the Serralunga commune, which hosts plenty of limestone, lending the wines more structure and bolder tannins massaged by Giacosa's signature finesse. Antonio Galloni in Wine Advocate rightly notes, "Massive and virile, it is an assertive Barolo that commands attention for its explosive fruit and multi-faceted personality." This personality promises to continue to develop itself for, easily, another two decades and will long be talked about in the same breath as the 78s and 82s.
Due to the very limited quantities of today's wine, all orders are subject to confirmation. To place your order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Robert Schagrin
Managing Partner
Crush Wine & Spirits
Giacosa arrives late 2010